Sharp As Glass
by Hunger4Games
Summary: "Clove, you're sharp, as sharp as a knife you throw, as sharp as glass, but you're not smart. And you definitely will fall for anything when the time comes." Clove Hazelwood has a heart of steel and a mind as sharp as her knives, but is she ready?
1. Chapter 1: Sharp As Glass

**Sharp as Glass**

"Clove, you're sharp, as sharp as a knife you throw, as sharp as glass, but you're not smart. And you definitely will fall for anything when the time comes. Let's face it. You can volunteer, you can show off, but are you actually ready for the games?"

I look down at my chest, tugging on my sleeve. It was stupid of me to go straight to Shen, my training instructor for advice. What did he know?

"But, for all else, your just not ready. Your knife flicks are off balance, you don't know anything about survival yet and…" he pauses, eyeing me up and down, "you're… too small".

That was what did it: the height problem. I tried taking deep breaths to calm me, as losing your cool in front of an instructor was not respectable. But he had gone too far. The only thing that could calm me was thinking about slicing up some tribute from an outer district. He was still going on.

"Clove, I seriously need you to re-think this volunteering business. You're a fantastic student, but there are tributes from 4, 1 and even 11 that could kill you! It's suicide".

"Cato gets to go!" I rebutted, but Shen simply held up his hand.  
"No more, I mean it". His final word was serious, so I should play it safe for now. Arguing with an instructor from an official Academy can bring dishonor and get you banned. I am not prepared for that.

I marched, steaming from his lecture. That didn't even make any sense! I'm perfectly ready. I can hit any target, I laugh at the fact of death. I am ready! You don't know anything!

If there is anything good to this seething rage, it's that I can put the emotion towards my training. I hit the red button by the knife rack, flaring up the alarm system. Motors whir into life and four human silhouette boards come flying from my right. The whack on the button has caused a small bruise on my wrist. The pain is good, it helps me focus. Already I have 4 knives in my hand, two are dainty, and begin throwing with more rage than ever.

Each hit goes straight to the head, the heart, the arm. Any part of the body I simply slice away at. I am the master of the knives, flinging them over my shoulder, on my knees, practicing any way I can to learn where my weaknesses are. I have to be prepared to throw a knife from any angle.

By the time I am worn out, it takes me a while to realize the shadow over my shoulder. If it's Shen then I don't want to talk, but it's not.

It's Cato.

"Nice skills", he complimented, smiling down on me. His smile has me flustered. Oh gosh what do I say? Something cool? Arrogant? Funny? Finally I just say "Thanks", and give him a smile.

"No seriously, those hits are impossible to get, you have a real gift with killing". All these compliments! Why is he talking to me? Say something you twit, I think to myself.

"I hear you are volunteering this year?" Oh boy wasn't that a real charm of a line. Talk about his imminent death.

Cato leans against the pole, folding his arms with a thoughtful look on his face. When he answers, his face is devoid of emotion. "Yeeeah, but I know I'm going to win." His smile whisks me away, and I am totally speechless. He then bent down, brushed my hair back from my ear, and whispered, "Don't listen to Shen, he doesn't know what he is talking about. Volunteer. Do it. You're good enough. Do it for me". His lips are almost brushing my ear, sending chills down my back, before he stands back up and walks away. I am left speechless for the first time in my life.

Is he playing games with me? Or does he really think I can do it? I blushed again, thinking that perhaps the best tribute here thinks I'm cool. I'm never cool. But he thinks so.

By the end of the afternoon, I have my decision. The reaping is in two days time. My new friend Cato will receive a nice surprise.

However, as I exited the Academy that afternoon, Shen's advice kept ringing through my head.

"You're sharp Clove, as sharp as a knife you throw, as sharp as glass, but you're not smart. And you definitely will fall for anything when the time comes…"


	2. Chapter 2: The Mockery of Living

**Chapter 2: The Mockery of Living**

The crowd was very placid, relaxed. No-one was sad, or upset; not one person shoved. Everyone was filed and placed in their order. District 2 in all its glory, being prepared for the games.

I scan the 14 year old placement area. No competition, nobody willing to volunteer. I smiled to myself. Perfect.

I walked up to the peacekeeper, who calmly asked for my finger. Always the most hated part when I was a girl, the needle prick is now a simple thing for me. Just close your eyes and think of something else. The lady calmly shoved the tube into my finger, bringing two drops of blood onto a sheet of paper. One final scan confirms my name, household family, blood type and age.

I pass by the twelve year olds; they're looking worried for their first year. As I just get to my area I lock eyes with a blonde haired girl with tears running down my cheeks. A twelve year old girl scared shitless. Shame if she gets picked.

It's almost time to start. I stand on my tippee-toes, checking the crowd. The crap thing is my height. I can hardly see anything. Except for…yes! There he is. I see the crop of blonde hair, the way he stands so arrogantly. Cato. He just stands there, no emotion on his face. As if he's bored of it all-ready. You have to admire how calm he is. I've been looking at him for so long that I almost miss the District escort, Sabra De'cour, step up to the microphone and introduce the 'special' video. Standing in silver platforms that make her twice her size, and wearing a green garb sequined all along the sides in metallic diamantes, Sabra has always been a so called 'fashionista'. This year she has her hear sprayed mossy green, no doubt trying to stay with Capitol fashions. In our world she's just another airhead of an escort, always making the games bigger then what they are. Big deal.

Finally, after the video, Sabra invites up Cato Teuful to the stage. "We would like to present Cato Teuful to the stage as our male volunteer!" She enthusiastically declares, giving a huge sweep of her hand. He stands there with his arms crossed, the same authority and arrogance he carried into the academy. I wonder if it's all an act, but quickly dismiss it. No-one is that good of an actor.

Claps and shouts from the audience. A couple of his mates have got a chant going, and others join in. He smiles and girls scream his name. He has everyone loving him.

Finally, after everyone has been hushed, Sabra walks over to the girls reaping bowl with large, calculated steps. Her motions are so jerky that I can't help giggling a little bit. Her hand hovers over the top of the glass.

"Do we have any girl volunteers for the 74th Hunger Games?" She calls out to the crowd. Everyone's quiet, and you can hear a pin drop. Knowing Sabra, she will probably follow the same routine as last year. Ask three times, wait for an answer each time for dramatic tension, and then select a paper.

"Anybody? Don't be shy!"

Now or never. Don't think about it. Remember what Cato says. I'm good enough but…. is he just joking? Was this his final game with a girl before he leaves District 2? Am I over analyzing it?

My emotions wrestle with my thoughts and I realize that she is asking a third time.

"This is your final chance. Anyone at all?" She glances at all the girl sections. Some are shaking their heads.

I try to raise my hand or scream out "I volunteer" but the words are caught in my throat. Just as I am about to work up enough courage to do it, she puts her hand into the bowl.

I've missed it! I have missed my chance to impress everyone! Shen, Cato, my parents! I have to say something now. Before she unravels the paper. Once a district escort knows the name of the girl, that selected child will become the official tribute of District 2! Tears sting my eyes.

"Well I guess we can rely on the papers to help us!" Her hand travels around the bowl, stirring the paper slowly gently. I squeeze my eyes, release my throat and just as she pulls out the paper I choke out "I volunteer".

Two girls to my left turn sharply towards me. One looks happy, but the other has shock written all over face. "I volunteer!" I say a little more loudly, enough that the nearest peacekeepers turn their heads. Sabra is just reaching the microphone before unraveling the paper when I run out past the tape marking our section and yell "I VOLUNTEER!" Everyone turns to stare at me.

Sabra drops the paper, and points to me. "We have a volunteer for the girls!" Four peacekeepers grab me and push me to the front. Everyone looks excited. I manage to get to the steps without fainting, but now I'm feeling sick. Cato is smiling at me, almost like he is proud.

I get to the microphone when I lock eyes with Shen. It's hard to make out the emotion on his face, because he turns away quickly. I feel a slight pang of guilt. No doubt he is upset.

"What's your name?" Sabra asks me. Don't act stupid, I tell myself. Say your name calmly and nicely. This is being filmed.

"Clove Hazelwood". I smile at the camera zooming on my face.

"Oh, and why did you volunteer, Clove?" Answer with something witty or amazing, Clove. Don't look stupid on national TV.

I stand there for a moment, pressing the bruise on my wrist. Finally I have my answer.

"Because I will make this District proud!" And then I smile at everyone. People jump up and start clapping, cheering me on. Someone starts shouting my name and I feel a slight elevation in my mood. Everyone likes this kind of twist in a tribute because they make the games interesting.

Sabra claps me on the back, beaming at me. Cato is also clapping politely. Everyone loves me! I knew this was the best decision!

When I shake his hand, his cool blue eyes lock onto mine, and I feel lost in his smile. Sabra takes us both into the justice building, where we wait for our families to meet us.

By the time my family has told me how proud they are, and my best friend gives me a token of our district, a necklace made of Onyx, I feel ready to leave.

But there is one more person waiting for me.

The door opens and I am surprised to see Shen standing there. The emotion on his face reads that he is upset, and I reach out to him. His arms open wide in the gesture of a hug, but before we get to that moment, he slams me against the wall.

"What do you think you're doing? Did I not tell you that volunteering was not for you?" He spoke to me as a child. His arm was up against my throat, and I could not properly respond.

"I am proud of my decision!" I choked out.

"You are fool", he spat, "you are vain and have no idea what will happen to you! Do you know the life you just wasted? You make a mockery of your own life! Throwing it away like that! I'm disgusted with your childish instincts." His expression hurt me the most, and tears brimmed on my eyes. One drop was released and Shen smiled satisfactory.

"Cato said I should do it!" I rebut. "I will be fine! I'm going to win!" But Shen cut me off.

"You are ignorant, and I will never get over this Clove, how am I supposed to…", his sentence broke off, and just as suddenly, he planted his lips on mine. My eyes widened at the thought of this 19 year old kissing me. The kiss was forced, but tender. And it lasted for five seconds. He broke away, leaving me against the wall.

"You have never known this", he said softly, "but I love you. And you don't know how hard it is, day by day, every year, I have worked up the courage to see you. But I could never tell you. You ignored me, saw me as only a trainer."

I started to say something, but he just stood there. His hurt expression is what silenced me.

When he spoke again, his voice seemed firmer.

"I always told you that you weren't very sharp".

I stared downwards, releasing the tears that slid down my cheeks. This wasn't fair for him to do. I was supposed to be strong, but these emotions are overpowering. It isn't strength or smarts or even beauty that wins these games, it's the ability to be smart. And I can't do that with the emotions running around in my head…

"That is my gift to you for you to remember me by and to ponder on what feelings I had for you" he declared. Shen walked out, opening the door just as the Peacekeeper walked in. It didn't take two seconds for the man to figure out what happened, but he didn't say anything.

I'm still in shock. Shen said he loved me. That I ignored him every day…

Suddenly, volunteering seemed like the craziest idea in my life.

I only felt anger that night, on the train, where everything was quiet. I am introduced to Enobaria, my childhood hero, as she quickly compliments on my volunteering. She dismisses me to bed after dinner, and it takes hours for me to get to sleep. In my dreams, Shen and a lineup of people including my family and friends were saying goodbye to me.

It takes me a while to realize that I'm in a coffin, chained by the throat. I can't escape as people keep throwing roses onto me, saying their final goodbyes. Other apparition of District 2 floats away from me, before turning to ash. My mother and father can't hear me talk.

Everything I have experienced in my past nightmares revisits me tonight.

Finally, Cato makes his appearance in my nightmare, grinning his shark smirk before he bursts into flames before my eyes. The distinct sound of howling can be heard behind him, rising to a high pitched screaming. My final vision is giant peacekeepers hauling blocks of mortar to encase me, and I wake up shaking from the remnants of the nightmare…


	3. Chapter 3: The Illusion of Infatuation

The Illusion of Infatuation

I stare down at my hands; the flesh had been rubbed smooth. My fingernails had a high gloss that made them shine like peachy sunlight. Raising my hand to the ultraviolent light, I see how the shine makes my fingernails glitter. Though they may be annoying, my stylist team have done an amazing job.

Shame it won't last.

I close my eyes and remember back to the interviews; being shown up by Glimmer, hands reaching out from the audience, Caesar's gasp as he complimented my dress.

Cato winked at me afterwards. I smile at the memory.

But my rage continued, because there is one girl who seemed to steal the show.

Glimmer. Yes there was the girl on fire, twirling in a dress that made her look like a prissy, but it's Glimmer who has me pissed off. The way she drapes herself over Cato, and becomes angry when I talk to Cato, threatens me if I think of Cato.

After the interviews, we caught each other in the hallway. She obviously saw this as the perfect time to threaten me.

"**Watch yourself little girl", she said in a mock tone, as she held me against the wall. "You're very immature for your age." **

"**No, you watch yourself! You can't shoot for crap! You will end up with a knife in your back from me. And you're assaulting me! So who's immature now?" My voice got louder and louder and two peacekeepers came running over, sensing a fight.**

**She looked down with a sarcastic smile. "Oh yes, the young fourteen year old is going to kill me. What a joke". She looked at the peacekeepers from her peripherals, as they ran down to us. Both grabbed her shoulders and led her away. She didn't resist, but only called over her back "and by the way Clove, Cato says he sees you as a sister!" **

**Her laugh echoed down the hallway, and I went back to my room crying. Throughout the car trip back I did not speak to anyone. And I dare not look at Cato for help, because he probably told her to give me the message. **

She deserves to die.

And now, here I sit, angrily awaiting the 30 second countdown. Angry because of her threats. Obviously I'm still in the alliance of the careers, I can't break that now. It would ultimately mean I wouldn't survive the bloodbath. But that won't stop me from killing her when the time is right.

A woman's voice on the intercom calls out "30 seconds". I look over. 10 steps and you will be in a tube, shooting up to the arena above. They call this place the stockyard, the place for animals to be slaughtered.

I walk up to the glass tube, remembering Enobaria's goodbye. The nicest thing ever said to me.

"**Remember Clove, your better than the others. Use your knives, and use your head. I don't care what your training instructor said, you're sharp". With that she smiled her golden fanged smile, and we departed.**

Like I said, the nicest thing ever.

I step up to the tube, taking deep breaths. Even though Glimmer's threat is still ringing in my head, I can't wait to meet the blood-thirsty Cato above. His passion for killing fascinates me.

I hear a _hiss-click _as the door swings behind me, sealing any sound from the world. All I can hear is my heart beating, my breaths becoming raspy. All the emotion I have felt from the past week funnels into this one moment.

Seconds pass, but it feels like hours. Somewhere my thoughts go back to Shen, and his final goodbye. I don't focus for long though, because the upwards movement of the tube brings me back to reality.

Time to focus.

All the tubes rise at the same time, so we all dramatically face each other. Each tribute get's sixty seconds to survey the arena, check out the opponents and make a plan. Step off before then and well…you just wasted a life.

Light filters through my vision as my eyes adjust, and all of a sudden I'm surrounded by a field and 23 tributes. Each one gazes at the other, staring, calculating. I see Glimmer, looking eager to run for it. I secretly hope she trips and goes KABOOM.

That would be funny.

Over to my left is the cornucopia, nestling against the slope that drops down to a lake. Surrounding it are black suitcases; on top are weapons, tents, kits and other various items.

I look over to Marvel, who winks at me. Creep.

Everyone stares down at the timer, labeling ten seconds. My legs automatically tense, sensing the run they will initiate.

The timer reaches 5 seconds.

I manage to glance at every tribute's face. Cato smirks, and then licks his lips. Eager for the slaughter. Glimmer tugs a curl in her hair, Thresh narrows his face. The boy from 12 shakes his head. Finally, I manage to lock eyes with the girl on fire, and she stares right into me. I give her a smile, when the timer gets to three.

3,2,1. Go!

Everyone flies off their pedestals in different motions; most are running straight to the cornucopia. I see the girl from nine, Aurora, run next to me, so I shove her over. The fool thinks she can get in there and get a weapon before the careers. Maybe by the time I have returned she will have re-decided to run away.

Cato grabs a few knives and walks casually over to another girl, already struggling.

Glimmer is bent over the tribute from 6, hacking into his head. Blood goes flying. I'm eager to get my hands on a knife, and I stoop to pick something up; just an empty water bottle.

I look over my shoulder, to watch an enraged Marvel slash across the chest of a tribute, and Cato go running into the cornucopia.

To my left, on top of a suitcase, are three knives. Glinting in the sun. I run over to them, and begin to chase the tributes in the outer ring of the field. The girl from 12 and the boy from 9 are both struggling over a bag, so I decide that this is a better time to strike. Walking over, I fling my tiniest knife with pinpoint accuracy, hitting the boy in the chest.

The girl from 12 looks momentarily shocked, and I see blood running down her face. The boy must have spit it all over her. A good distraction. Although I am enraged that she wasn't struck first, I am in no hurry. I grit my teeth and throw my second knife over my shoulder, hearing the sweet whistling sound that accompanies it.

The girl, Katniss, rises to a running position and hikes the bag up over her head as she sprints. The knife lodges there, and I'm momentarily distracted by the failed moment.

I just missed.

I run back to the cornucopia, grabbing more weapons. Tributes feel my wrath that day, and 3 more die by hands.

A younger girl my age takes 3 hours to die. I make sure that the pain is long and sufferable. She screams, begging for death, and the more I feel the swirling anger. The red lines indicate the pathways my knives have made, and I am fascinated by it. Cato and Marvel shout encouragement from the fire, watching the girl. She continues to say "Kill me. Please just kill me."

How dare she! How dare she beg for death when I'm killing her! She has no right, a lowly pig from 9. Death is a gift.

I'll kill her. I'll kill them all. Including Glimmer.

But I will save her death for the longest.

By noon, the cannons have fired to show that 8 tributes have died. 8 casualties.

Marvel and Glimmer high five, but Cato stops them. "Marvel, Glimmer, tonight is going to be a big night", he smirks. "We still have tributes to kill".

I smile, eager to find Katniss. But my excitement is broken just as quickly.

"Leave The Girl on Fire to me, ok?" He has enough anger in his voice to get across the message. I'm not sure Marvel has the balls to contend with that. Both he and Glimmer agree, and I do too. But silently, in my heart, I think that 'The Girl on Fire' will be mine to kill….

**Guys, I cannot thank you enough for the reviews. Please continue to do so. Please! I will continue writing as long as you keep reviewing. Also, can you write up perhaps what you want to see happen in the story? Thank you once again.**

**From Hunger4Games 3**


	4. Chapter 4: Death's Sting

Chapter 4: Death's Sting

I could feel his hot breath down my neck, sending shivers up my spine. Both hands had me pinned against the tree, and he smiled down at me. A fair way behind him on the forest clearing, Glimmer laughed, obviously about some stunt Adrea pulled. Adrea is the girl from 4, and non-stop she has been pulling jokes and stunts. The 'entertainer' of the careers.

Marvel turns back to me, playing with my hair. In the dark, all I can sense is his heat. It's so cold at night, and he leans closer to me.

"I love the way you throw those knives Clove" he says with a velvety voice. I almost have to cover my mouth due to the laugh coming from me, so I give him a smile. His whole seductive act is so pathetic; I have to give him a little encouragement.

"You really think so huh? You know I kill kids just for you..." I look back to Cato, putting his sword into the fire. Glimmer hugs him.

Marvel grabs my attention. "Clove, you really are beautiful. Why did you volunteer?"

This is the line I use to my benefit. "Don't you see Ca- Marvel? It's fate. The Hunger Games has introduced me to you." I look down. And that's when Marvel dove for my face. His lips met mine in the dark, and instantly my heart beat furiously. There was nothing forced, he was gentle. I swear he was one of the best kissers I have ever met.

He thumb stroked my cheek, wiping away the tear that had escaped from the corner of my eye. This was horrible, that he had pulled me into the dark to kiss. Are we not supposed to be killing each other? Where were my motives? Why was I crying? Day two of the games and already I'm making out.

Marvel pulled back, breathing heavily as if he had run a marathon. He looked down at me, chewing his lip. His hands... his eyes... my emotions.

Everything moved in slow-motion as he attempted to kiss me, harder. Pushing his tongue between my lips, trying to dominate me. But I pulled away, or at least attempted to. I didn't want this. I was only playing a game. Leading him on to his own pathetic desires.

This had to stop.

Marvel could sense my discomfort and tried to grab me. He attempted to grab my top, almost as if he were trying to reach another place. I tried resisting, and he smiled. His eyes danced with fire, and his hands tried to grab my shirt sleeves. I couldn't breathe; his tongue was dominating my mouth.

I tried to scream but couldn't. It was then that I realized, Marvel was blocking my airway. Suffocating me by blocking my throat. He was kissing me to death. If I wasn't able to breathe I would have laughed at that thought.

I freed my wrist and brought my hand to his face, shoving him away. Marvel ripped the top of my shirt, exposing flesh. He laughed, and drove for the kill, but before he reached there, he flew. Lifted away from my grasp and landing hard on his ass.

Marvel screamed, and I watched as he was flung towards the forest floor. Cato was there behind him, baring his teeth. In a kids cartoon, he would have steam erupting from his nose. Cato dragged Marvel to the fire and shoved him to the ground, kicking Marvel in the groin.

Marvel screeched in pain.

As Cato walked back to me, I breathed through my airways, but it was like breathing through a straw. Cato sat by me for hours until I felt ready to walk, and we made our way back to the campfire. Marvel was lying over by the base of the tree, scowling at Cato and I.

"Marvel, don't you ever touch Clove. Touch her again, and I will make sure that you die the longest in this game, not Katniss". Cato points up at the tree, where in the dark Katniss slept.

"I will make you beg for death" Cato smiled at him. A crazy, loony grin.

Marvel looked away, no doubt hurting and embarrassed. Serve's him right.

Fatigue creeps up on me, so I try to find a leafy spot to sleep. I turn around to find some space to find Peeta looking straight at me.

"What are you looking at lover boy?" I sneer at him. Pathetic rat. I should just kill him tonight.

But Cato has advised against it. He warned us that it's the only way to find 'her'.

He responds with a quiet "nothing" and lays back down.

My eyes droop, and I'm asleep before my head hits the ground.

"**Mum, I don't want to go to that place" I yelled, resisting her grip. Mum had a vice-like grab, and she pulled me towards the academy. "Clove, one day you will volunteer for the games. So you need to go to an academy to learn how to kill. Be a good girl for mummy, ok? Sweetheart, don't resist."**

**But I do. I resist. I know what the games are. **

**I don't want to die.**

**My mother slaps me, hard. Tears sting my eyes. "Clove, you are mummy's little girl. And you will do as I say." Her voice had ice in it. I felt a stinging feeling on my cheek.**

"**Mummy! Don't!" I had tears running down my cheeks. The stinging on my cheek grew worse. My mother, enraged, appeared to stretch before me. She explodes in a flash, and the sound of a cannon erupts in my ears. The stinging sensation grows worse, and worse, before I'm begging for death.**

I wake up to the sound of buzzing, and a large crack. A stinging sensation in my cheek and hand wake me up, and I scream as a large yellow sack opens up. Flying beetles gather around us, and I drop everything.

My mind has only time to register one thing: Tracker Jackers.

Cat has left the clearing, but Glimmer lags behind. Now is my time. I shove her to the ground, then run for the bushes. I turn around one last time to watch an incredible scene.

The thing about Tracker Jackers is they sense who is the weakest at that point. Seeing Glimmer on the ground, they must know she is the easiest target. In seconds, thousand of the stinging insects surround her. Crawling all over her. She screams, and finally I turn around, knowing I'm next to be hunted.

Which direction was the lake?

Where is it?

Tree's warp and twist, and loud sounds render me dizzy. There is a brief moment of intense green, the feeling of rocks under my feet, the sound of more screaming.

Finally, a splash into what looks like water renders me unconscious, letting me listen to my mother and father sing "The Little Warrior" over and over again...


	5. Chapter 5: Battlefield of The Mind

Chapter 6: Battlefield of the Mind

The coolness of the water calms me, allowing me to catch small periods of sleep. Every time I wake out of pain, I have to stick my hands back into the flowing water, to calm me down. Cato tells me that I have been floating in and out of sleep for 8 hours.

Eight hours since the death of Glimmer.

For a second I blink, and fear engulfs me. Is Cato angry? Did he perhaps see me push her over? Is he keeping calm now, but talking to Marvel about shoving a knife in my back? My heart starts pounding; I feel like injured prey, lying on the banks of the lake. My attempts to get up are in vain though, as any movement brings dizziness and nausea.

Besides it's too late; Cato is walking down the hill towards me. The third time in one hour. He doesn't appear armed, but looks can be deceiving.

My thoughts are racing; I think of things that could convince him not to kill me.

Maybe I'm that badly injured that he is going to put me out of harm; the nice thing to do. I take steady breaths as he crouches down, brushing away my dirty curls from my mud-caked forehead.

"How are you feeling?" His nice tone catches me, and I answer back with a "Huh?" Most intelligent comment ever.

He looks down at me, and then inspects my hand. I finally look round to it, and see a lump the size of a plum on my wrist. The edges are purple, whilst the tip is bright red. Tracker Jacker stings are the worst. I'm biting my lip because of the stinging sensations, they bun with intensity.

He smiles down at me, and then grabs something out of his pocket. A small container, with gelatinous substance inside. He scoops the stuff on to my hands, my cheek, and instantly the burns are relieved. A sigh of relief escapes my lips.

"I asked some sponsors kindly for some medicine so you would get better". I'm shocked by his words. Sponsors? Medicine? Better? All this for me? Why?

I mumble back a "Thank you" and try to smile. I can't because the sting causes my lips to tighten and grimace.

A single image explodes into my head: Katniss, as she climbs the tree. No way did that nest drop down by accident or from some Gamemaker. That was all Katniss. Smart Katniss. Sharp Katniss.

Dead Katniss.

"Katniss", I murmur. Cato looks down and furrows his brow.

"Yes Clove, Katniss did this. She dropped the nest".

"I'll kill her." I whisper. "I will kill her. In the slowest way possible". Cato grabs my hand. His eyes turn a fierce blue; emotions mirrored through his corneas.

"I will let you have her", he whispers, "As long as you give the audience a good show. They are watching you Clove; they need to be entertained". He gets up and walks back up the hill.

His words are left ringing in my ear. My hand tingles from our touch.

Hours later, I return to the camp, just as the sun starts to set. I count who's with us. Me and Cato, Marvel and some black haired boy. A new recruit. I see that the girl from 4 did not make it either; another kill for Katniss.

"Where's Loverboy?" I ask.

Cato and Marvel look up. If the that was calm Cato before, then this is the complete opposite. His turns red. When he speaks, his voice is full of anger. "He helped Katniss escaped. So I cut him. All the way up his leg."

"But he hasn't appeared in the sky Cato", Marvel cuts in. I look to Cato. His sword is one of the most deadliest things in this arena. How can he miss? He couldn't of! No, Peeta is probably dead and Marvel is just jealous of the kill.

"Shut up Marvel!" Cato screams. He threw his sword to the ground and points at Marvel. "Listen Man, I know where I cut him. He couldn't have found anyone. Knowing him he is probably lying there with blood all over him. I killed him ok?"

Marvel just nods and looks back at the fire. The sky has turned pink, and around us the sounds of the night echo out from the forest. Somewhere in there sits Katniss and other tributes that are waiting to be discovered.

Cato sits up against a black suitcase, and palms some crackers. Dinner tonight is whatever we want, seeing as most of our supplies contain food. But I want to know why the boy from 3 is with us.

"Cato, why is he with us?" I scowl at him. "Why haven't you killed him yet?" The boy suddenly looks more alert.

Cato laughs and chucks some sticks in the fire. "Clove, this boy here is very smart. He has given us an advantage."

"What's that?" I look back over to the boy, who bobs his head up and down. What a geek.

Cato motions to the pile of food. "Look at that Clove! What do you thinks wrong with this picture?"

I stare at the pile of food. It would be so easy for someone to steal that food while we sleep, seeming its ten meters away. Even Thresh could get that stuff and run back to the woods.

"The pile is unprotected! Anyone could get it" I reply.

Cato smiles, and grabs a knife. He plays with the blade, and waves it around while he speaks. "Your wrong Clove, our little friend here has done something to it. And let's just say that if anyone would attempt that, well… we would have to scrape them off the ground."

Finally the boy speaks up. "I live in…uh…District 3. We have… bombs and stuff. I, um, I… dug the mines up and placed them around the food. Cato knows how to…um, get to the food. It would blow them all up." He manages a weak smile, before returning back to his plate of food.

Cato nods, before he speaks. "That's right, blow them up. Blow them all up sky high! Blow them all up!" He begins laughing crazily, before encouraging me to join him. "Clove, you're so tight. Relax and think about how you're going to kill Katniss!" He starts laughing again, and puts his blade in the fire, turning the metal hot red. I savor the thought, thinking of how I would make Katniss beg for her death, but leave it trailing just out of her reach.

And before I know it, I'm laughing too. Laughing at everything: the games, Cato, Katniss's death, even Marvel. Maybe it was the Tracker Jacker stings or the food, but I felt my sanity was slowly slipping away.

The boy from 3 just watched as Cato and I laughed and danced, both celebrating the horror of The Hunger Games. A memory that would never leave his mind forever.

My eager dreams twist and bend that night, as I plan over and over the death of Katniss. Different ways; knives falling into her flesh. A dream where Cato and I work together.

By morning, my sanity has completely left me….


End file.
